To appreciate the process of Indian criminal law, it is necessary that to understand following important terminology:

1. Bailable Offence, means an offence, which has been categorized as bailable, and in case of such offence, bail can be claimed, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions, as a matter of right under Section 436 of the Cr.P.C. In case of bailable offences, the Police is authorized to give bail to the accused at the time of arrest or detention.
2. Non-bailable Offence, means an offence in which the bail cannot be granted as a matter of right, except on the orders of a competent court. In such cases, the accused can apply for grant of bail under Section 437 and 439 of the Cr.P.C. It is important to note that the grant of bail in a non-bailable offence is subject to judicial discretion of the Court, and it has been mandated by the Supreme Court of India that “Bail, not Jail” should be the governing and guiding principle.
3. Anticipatory Bail, under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C., means that  a person who apprehends arrest on a wrong accusation of committing a non-bailable offence, can apply before a competent court for a direction to police to immediately release such a person on bail in the event of arrest. However, the grant of anticipatory bail is discretionary and defendant on the nature and gravity of accusations, the antecedents of the applicant and the possibility of the applicant fleeing from justice.
4. Cognizable Offence/case, has been defined under Section 2 (c) of Cr.P.C., as an offence/case in which a Police Office can arrest without a warrant.
5. Non-cognizable Offence/case, has been defined under Section 2 (l) of Cr.P.C., as an offence/case in which a Police Officer has no authority to arrest without a warrant.
6. Whether an offence/case is bailable or not bailable, and cognizable or non-cognizable, has been qualified under the 1^st Table of the 1^st Schedule of  Cr.P.C., which relate to the offences under IPC.
7. F.I.R (first information report), is formal recordal of a complaint, by police in case of commission of a cognizable offence, and can be considered as a first step in the process of the investigation of a cognizable offence by Police
8. The Table II of the 1^st Schedule of  Cr.P.C., gives a general guideline to determine whether an offence is  bailable, non-bailable, cognizable or non-cognizable. The criteria in the table below, is applicable in those cases which are silent on this aspect. For easy understanding, the following criteria may be understood:

1. The criminal investigation process and prosecution mechanism in India, can be started in any of the following manner:

1. On complaint /reporting /knowledge of the commission of a cognizable offence, any police officer, even without the orders of a Magistrate, can investigate the cognizable case. [Section 156 (1) of the Cr.P.C.]
2. In case of failure or inaction of a police officer to investigate a cognizable offence, a criminal complaint can be filed before a Magistrate under Section 190 of Cr.P.C., for taking cognizance of such offence, and on such complaint, the Magistrate himself can take cognizance of the case and do the inquiry, or in the alternative under Section 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C., order Police to register an F.I.R and investigate the offence.
3. In case of non-cognizable offence, Police is not obliged to investigate, and the judicial process can be started by filing a criminal complaint before the competent court, under Section 190 of the Cr.P.C.